Some time in June of this year, I was looking through some wheeling pics and couldn't find one if me spotting that didn't disgust me. I weighed myself at 264# and decided that I had enough of being fat, lazy and generally out of breath when doing everything. I kept telling myself that it wasn't my fault: I have some physical limitations that keep me from doing anything worthwhile. When I was 17, I had a terrible fracture in the upper femoral neck of my right leg. That's in the ball and socket joint so there was no cast and it wasn't even found until I was discharged several years later for, you guessed it, medical reasons.

The army failed to even recognize it or the fact that when it healed, my leg was shorter which threw my back all out of whack. Fast forward a couple years and I now have an even better excuse to not exercise. All the "no walk, run, jump" profiles I had in the army were now met with this beauty:

This was the counter balance in my left leg to get my back actually square for the first time since 2001. Sure, it took three years of chiropractor visits to get it back into place but its right as rain now.

So now I was hobbling (still hobble places) everywhere and convinced that I couldn't run again. It is still the cause of lots of pain in my ankle and knee (by proxy). I kept stuffing my face like I was a teenager and completely disregarded the fact that I didn't exercise anymore. Laughed quite a bit when I saw this:

So now we are finally to the reason for the thread: I decided to run, cut portion sizes and limit what I ate based on nutritional value. I didn't count calories though I had a rough idea as to how many I was taking in. My goals were to do 20 minutes on the treadmill and to eat breakfast before work and eat dinner at a reasonable hour. I also threw in a little stipulation that I'm not allowed to load up on carbs at dinner since I had no outlet for the energy.

From the end of June to the end of September (my big three-oh), I lost almost 50 lbs of fat. I weigh in at roughly 217 still as my needs have now changed once more. I decided to maintain weight rather than lose more because I wanted to join a gym and gain a little more muscle mass. I had never joined a gym in my life and never had any exercise outside of PT. I do physical work for a living so I'm not completely useless. Though I became useless somehow.

So here this saga starts two weeks into my first gym endeavor. My buddy joined with me and between him and my brother (who is a big bag of muscle) I'm on the right track. Perhaps I will keep a gym log, maybe I won't. I'm going three days a week for weights and some cardio every day. Currently soaking in the bath after reaching muscle failure on every muscle group I worked. Luckily my thumbs still work.

First of all, props to you for doing something about your weight. Most people who are disgusted in themselves just flat out give up. 30lbs is a lot, especially without any real "weight training."

I would definitely keep a log on here, it's helped me. Plus, we can help you. Ill be doing this for a living so I'm more than happy to help in any way I can.

What exercises are you doing? I'm sure your brother has told you, but to obtain hypertrophy you need to be doing 3-5 sets with 8-15 reps. There's an inverse relationship between sets and reps. So if you're sticking to 8-10 reps, I'd do 5 sets.

With the injuries/misalignments you've had, form is absolutely the most important thing you need to focus on. Don't be too proud to use light weights and spare yourself from injury. I know all too well about doing too much weight and hurting myself.

I'm doing three days a week and doing every thing from quads to hamstrings to calves to shoulders to biceps to triceps to abs to back. Usually increasing weight and doing 12-10-8-8-8 reps and I try to hit failure by the last set. Or just barely finish the last set. I'm on my second week and the noob soreness has gone away and I'm always ready to go hit it again. Little bit of every muscle group every gym day. Different exercises for those muscles during the week. Monday I will do squat presses on the bar, Wednesday I press the sled and Friday I will do dumbbell squats. Gotta mix it up. Yes?

And thanks Ty, the fifty pounds have helped me out tremendously with motivation. I wear a wounded warrior bracelet and look at the word "Commitment" and it has been helping with getting on the treadmill every day and utilizing discipline with my food intake. I have one cheat meal where I have my burger, garlic fries and IPA.

You're definitely doing it right. That workout sounds good. I've never done them like that, but if you're getting sore then it's working lol. Just keep doing that until you feel like you've reached a plateau, then switch up your routine. Like maybe do a 4 day split with different muscle groups on each day.

You're definitely doing it right. That workout sounds good. I've never done them like that, but if you're getting sore then it's working lol. Just keep doing that until you feel like you've reached a plateau, then switch up your routine. Like maybe do a 4 day split with different muscle groups on each day.

Thanks for sharing this with me.
You've been such a positive motivation, inspirations, and source of wisdom in my life over the past few months. When I too, make the leap, I will let you know.

Sub'd up.

Go get 'em bro.

Cheers

I'm trying to the best of my ability. Physically its not difficult, I just lack motivation

I jumped on my low impact treadmill I have at home last night and within three steps I felt a pop. Then pain. Grr. I had to sit out my cardio session last night and drive to the gym and sit on a stationary bike for 40 minutes and worked up a good sweat this morning. I really hate that my ankle holds me back sometimes. If its not that, my hip hurts. Or my back. Getting old sucks.

On my weight training days, I have a partner. My best friend was a drill sergeant for years and he's right there with me. He doesn't have the physical injuries I have though. Its tough to keep up so I do what I can.

So my buddy has been out sick since Saturday and I don't want what he and his extended family have been passing around though I hear its a cheap weight loss plan. I have been to the gym every night and haven't been satisfied with just cardio on the weekends. I sneak a few sets of weights in between the treadmill and the bike. My back wasnt up to par for the Romanian dead lifts last week and I was an idiot and did forearms first so I couldn't grip the bar let alone do the sets on the schedule.

Tonight, I'm exhausted. I ran a lot and biked a lot and did various upper body exercises via the neat machines. My brother told me that barbells hold you back and slightly allow one weak arm to compensate for another. I'm right arm dominant and stop the exercise if I reach failure in the left arm just to keep them even. The 30* incline press seemed a lot easier last week as opposed to this week. And the flat press had me hitting failure and dropping a 25 from each side to finish my sets after failure.

Good for you, taking that first step is often the hardest step. Oddly enough seeing a few pics of myself, a couple of years ago, is what motivated me into getting up and doing something about my weight as well....that and not getting any younger. Motivation is sometimes the hardest thing to find, especially when the visual results are fewer and further between.

Stick with it, maintaining even a mild workout routine is better than sitting on the couch eating chips and watching tv all the time.

Member ofJGW (Jeff's Gone Wheeling)and To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Good for you, taking that first step is often the hardest step. Oddly enough seeing a few pics of myself, a couple of years ago, is what motivated me into getting up and doing something about my weight as well....that and not getting any younger. Motivation is sometimes the hardest thing to find, especially when the visual results are fewer and further between.

Stick with it, maintaining even a mild workout routine is better than sitting on the couch eating chips and watching tv all the time.

I'm rewarding myself by only watching certain tv shows (via my comcast app) while on the exercise bike. Multitasking and rewarding myself is motivating enough. I'm taking the fiancée to my cardio night tonight to see if she wants to join me two days a week. Gyms are addicting.